Managing Email: Step-By-Step Guide

Team Polymail

Emails can become overwhelming throughout the work day. When you first look at your phone or computer, you often find a mass of unread emails, followed by the notification bells going off all throughout the day. 

While some emails require your attention, the simple reality is that the standard email is filled with junk and spam that we simply don’t care about. If you find yourself ignoring those notification “dings” more often than not, it may be time to take control of your inbox. 

Set Aside Some Specific Times to Really Go Through Your Email 

The best action you can take as a user is setting time aside to really tackle your emails. Emails can be packed with needed information that requires your full attention, which may not be possible if you open them throughout the day as you receive them and aren’t necessarily at your desk or even giving the email your full attention.

For many businesses, users will set aside time in the beginning of the day, after lunch, and toward the end of the day to clear all needed tasks. This means at the end of the day, you can work on what can be completed by end of day, determine what needs to be accomplished the next day, and then review additional info as you start your next day of work. 

Regardless if you check your emails once a day, or every time you hear the notification, an organized account will keep you from wasting time reading emails that could have waited. 

Create A Dedicated and Versatile Workspace

While most people often consider their physical surroundings their workspace, a clean and well organized workspace is just as important to increase productivity. From organizing your contacts to organizing your email, these management tips are sure to keep your work flowing.

Manage Your Contacts

Email contacts are about more than just a person's email address -- it’s about creating a person behind the text. When you simply just send messages back and forth, it’s easy to forget who you're actually talking to. 

Start by adding as much detail about the person as you can into your contact. While you are communicating with them in the form of emails, having a phone number or social media account on file reduces the need for wasted time later if you were to need that information. 

Now begin adding notes into your contacts. Some people utilize the notes section to keep track of tasks or previously talked about goals, while other people fill the notes section with personal information they may want to bring up later to create a personal connection. 

With Polymail, these contacts become an all-in-one profile, not only holding their contact information, but also giving you an easy-to-navigate view of all messages, content, files, and tasks shared between you. This means that images they shared 40 messages ago can quickly be found by clicking their profile, then clicking the “files” tab along the bottom. At this point you can quickly search through shared files, eliminating the all-too-familiar scenario of pouring through email trying to find that one important file you never thought you’d need again. 

Organize Your Emails

An important step to managing your email is organization, from ridding your inbox of the overwhelming spam to splitting your inbox into specific folders, these tricks are essential for any inbox, be it personal or business. 

Subscriptions

Start by taking care of your subscriptions. You may find your inbox buried in subscriptions as companies send you advertisements and promotions at a rapid rate. From the rewards program at your local coffee shop, to the online shop that offered you a one time discount for typing in your email address, these companies will now fill your inbox with what they think is the next best thing. 

While some subscriptions are exactly what you want, most subscriptions are overwhelming. 

Unsubscriber by Polymail searches your emails to find all subscriptions and companies filling your inbox with regular correspondence. These subscriptions are displayed in an easy to read list where you can simply click “unsubscribe” and Polymail will not only remove the unwanted messages, but they will add the sender information to a “do not receive” list to keep these unwanted messages out of your email for good.

Spam

Spam refers to the unsolicited bulk mail that is repeatedly sent in an attempt to get you to sign up for a deal that’s too good to be true, gain your financial or personal information for phishing, get you to click unsecure links, or just plain try to spread a virus to your computer. 

While spam mail can be irritating and get in your way, they can play a much more dangerous role. These emails typically derive from unwanted sources, and often attempt to collect personal information or encourage you to follow sketchy links. 

It’s important to get rid of this risk, and it’s easy to do with Polymail -- simply click on the sender profile and find the three dots to the top right. Once this menu drops down, click “mark as spam” and emails from this sender will be blocked, keeping your personal information just a little safer. 

Folders and Filters

Don’t forget to focus on organization through folders and filters. Folders allow you to continue to receive messages, but file them away in an easy to organize manner. Using the Polymail Command Center (Cmd/Ctrll + J), begin typing the name of your folder and move the emails in one easy click. Using the filter option, ensure all incoming messages will get placed in their intended folders for easy sorting. 

You may consider using folders to create a place for your promotions, your personal emails, or even breaking your work account down into customers, vendors, and workflow. 

Folders can also be used to organize when an email needs to be managed. The reality is, most emails don’t need to be addressed as soon as you receive them. By utilizing folder names such as End of the Day, Tomorrow Morning, Next Week, or any other custom option you may choose, you can place these emails in an easy to find location so they don’t become buried in the depths of your inbox and are easy to get to when you’re ready to work on them. 

Archives

To lighten up your inbox, consider utilizing the Archive option to remove options from your inbox to what’s been thought of as a “temporary trash.” These messages will no longer be seen, but can be found by searching through the search bar and clicking the archive folder. These messages can also be brought back to the inbox if they become needed. 

Organize Your Team

Whether you are working with a large team, or if it’s just you, proper workplace organization allows you to better prepare for your day. Polymail’s professional communication services allow you to communicate better, and plan better. 

Communication can be done in a real time comment-style chat, reducing the number of unneeded emails circulating as you work to get a task done. These chats also allow for an easy to use notification platform to be linked to each user's Polymail profile so you know if something actually needs your attention or not. 

When working in a team, it's common to work with people outside of your group. This is no problem with Polymail. Click the “Share” icon at the top right of your team chat, and you will find an easy to share link that can be shared within, outside the platform. Be sure to click the permissions just below the link to adjust who with the link can open your chats, from allowing anyone with the link to communicate, or to turn the chat private if the need arises. 

For many people, understanding when you or someone you need to talk to has time is an important step in day to day planning. Calendar by Polymail allows you to add business and personal meetings to an easy to share calendar that shows when you have time for a quick one on one. This booking and calendar service ensures you won’t double book, and each appointment gets the time it needs without being cut short because of poor scheduling. 

Summary

Organization remains the key component in increasing productivity through your email. Thankfully, the innovative tools found within Polymail create an entire work experience at a reasonable cost.

It’s time to take control of your workspace communications with Polymail.  

Sources

https://www.topresume.com/career-advice/when-you-should-and-shouldnt-check-your-email#:~:text=Do%20check%20your%20email%20on%20a%20scheduled%20time&text=Setting%20aside%20a%20specific%20time,colleagues%20about%20your%20response%20time

https://www.ed.ac.uk/information-services/computing/comms-and-collab/email/mail-relay/viruses/dangerous#:~:text=Most%20spam%20is%20irritating%20and,scams%20and%20advanced%20fee%20fraud

https://blog.frame.io/2020/05/11/remote-team-communication/ 



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